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4 Ways to Protect Yourself Against Card Skimmers

Written by: Bill Hardekopf02/25/13 - 9:30 AM EST

NEW YORK (LowCards.com) -- Card skimming is now a sophisticated crime that can happen anywhere you swipe your credit or debit card.

There are usually no signs your card was skimmed, but by using the stolen debit card and PIN, a thief can drain all of the money quickly from your bank account. Stolen account numbers can also be sold to online shoppers.

Thieves can insert skimmers -- sold on the Web along with the software to run them -- into card reader sleeves and hide tiny cameras nearby to record PINs.

A skimmer can look like part of the ATM and be very hard to see. After the card is swiped, data on the magnetic stripe are picked by the skimmer's card reader. The information can then be stored on the memory of the skimmer device or transmitted wirelessly to a secondary location.

If you think your card has been part of a skimming scam, contact your financial institution immediately.

Chip-and-pin technology could provide better protection against skimmers. These cards use microchip and PINs instead of the magnetic stripe. The embedded chips are encrypted to prevent skimmers from accessing card information. But adoption of these cards has been slow in the United States because it requires a new ATM system and a large investment to install suitable terminals.